Advice needed on Satellite French/Eng TV

[Miju]

I currently receive French TV quite successfully through a normal ariel, but cannot get a good picture on Arte which  I think has some of the best programmes.  I would like to be able to watch some UK free to air TV such as the BBC and still watch the French channels.  Does anyone know what satellite dish I would need to get both French channels and some free to air UK stuff.  I have never had a satellite dish so don't know anything about them.  Can you receive some channels through an ariel and some through a satellite dish? (probably a stupid question to those in the know!) Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Martin963]

Arte/La 5 is often transmitted at lower power than the 3 main channels on UHF,  hence your poorer picture.

 

En bref - the BBC transmissions are digital only so that is the sort of receiver you want, although Arte is available also in analogue.  Unfortunately the BBC transmit from Astra 2 at 28 deg east and Arte transmit from a different satellite - Astra 1 from 19 deg east.  So either you need a fancy single dish set up complete with 2 carefully aligned LNB's , one for each position,  along with some sort of switcher, or you need to put up 2 dishes, again either with automatic Diseq type switching or swap the feed to the receiver "by hand".

There is no trouble continuing to watch terrestrial TV with a satellite set up included.  Unless it's a very old TV the satellite receiver makes use of the SCART socket on the back - a 21 pin affair.

The full range of French TV terrestrial channels are monopolised on satellite by TPS - and unfortunately the main ones are scrambled, requiring a subscription.  It seems sensible therefore - unless you want to pay again for something that is already funder by the redevance - to go on watching the likes of TF1 via your terrestrial aerial.   Canalsatellite carries the terrestrials except TF1 and M6 but again a subscription is required.

This is a brief resumé of the situation,  please ask again for more detailed points.

[Buster_Gutte]

Miju - Ola!

Like you I had little understanding of french TV transmissions, and was very keen to get some 'meteo' information whilst on summer holidays in our cottage.

The first thing I did was to 'opportunity shop' in Brico depot, when I saw they were selling an analogue satellite dish and receiver for 50 euros. My friend and I then spent an afternoon wandering round the garden with the dish on a broomstick, trying to point it at a satellite, an hilarious event. Just when we thought we would have to admit that this was not a serious way to go about getting 'telly', the receiver suddenly locked on and we got 6 french channels TF1 2 etc..(you can miss this part of the 'installation programme, as obviously your roof aerial (antenne) works OK.). No English channels are available on this analogue set-up

This year, we 'went digital', when, lo and behold, Brico depot were selling a digital dish and receiver for 99 euros. This time we cut out the 'dish on a broomstick' and settled for buying a compass and using an upturned rotary clothes line to mount the dish on. very soon we were receiving all manner of pictures from HotBird Astra2 etc etc.

The reason I've gone on a bit is that for simple satellite reception, the 'installation' we found quite easy...BUT I think, if you want a serious or reliable set-up, with no loss of picture in strong winds, or good drying days (we had to give the clothesline back) then you will need a competent installer and have to pay a subscription of some kind

H T H  Buster

[Miju]

Thanks very much to both replies  - very helpful information - I can now make an informed decision on what to do.

Miju

[Martin963]

Like everything,  installation looks daunting when it's your first time,  then after several (installations,  not drinks!) it's easy.  If you have some DIY experience it's worth getting the dish,  digital receiver , cable & plugs and a wall bracket from a DIY outlet (often no more than €80 in total) and having a go, using the signal meter display on the TV.   I find the hardest bit drilling through the rocks that seem to be contained in most domestic walls round here in order to mount the bracket!

 

To give you an idea of how easy it gets,  at my parents-in-law (in Oxfordshire) we have a dish attached to a breeze-block on the ground.  By leaning out of a window and leaving the nuts and bolts only finger-tight,  I can swing the dish from Hotbird to Astra 1 to Astra 2 in a matter of seconds.   I often use flowers in the adjacent beds to "mark" the right direction for each satellite,  and tweak the tilt a bit to match - problem is my mother in law moves the flowers round when we're not there and I have to re-learn!).  But the point is it's not difficult and if you are without the BBC it's worth a morning spent experimenting.

[Floodfamilyagain]

Hello

I am just looking at the catorama website at a kit which combines both analogique and numerique but I dont understand how it works? This is the text that is included on the product:

.....''Kit satellite numérique et analogique 3 têtes *****. Composé de: 1 parabole 80 cm métal avec 3 têtes universelles 0,6 dB, 1 commutateur DiSEqC 2 entrées / 1 sortie, 2 cordons péritels, 1 terminal numérique FTA 3000 canaux (2000 TV et 1000 radios), OSD en 7 langues, EPG (guide des programmes), 2 listes favorites, 2 sorties péritels, 1 sortie audio/vidéo en RCA, DiSEqC 1,0-1,2 et Usuals. 1 démodulateur analogique 450 canaux, OSD en 2 langues, 2 prises péritels, DiSEqC 1,0.''

Is this to enable you to receive the french national channels plus the free to view channels through the same TV ( multi standard)and the one dish ?

It was mentioned earlier in the posting by 'Martinwatkins' about aligning the LNB's carefully to the different satellites - is that what we would need to do to enable us to get some of the uk channels through the numerique box and also get the main french ones through the analogique box? One 'head' in one satellite direction and another going the other way? Is this quite difficult to actually do?

Once it is done, when switching from say a french tv programme to a uk one with the above kit would it still involve unplugging bits from the back of the TV/and or boxes and switching things over?

Sorry to be so dim on this but I too have no experience of satellite until now so am trying my best to understand what is available and to see if it is actally worth having (or not as the case may be!)

I also saw a kit for the analogique box/dish with universal head which was adaptable to receive programs from a numerique box ( sold separately) which was a lot cheaper than the above package . Would it ultimately achieve the same thing if it was used with a dish with 2 universal heads?

Enlightenment welcomed!

Natalie

[Martin963]

Hello
I am just looking at the catorama website at a kit which combines both analogique and numerique but I dont understand how it works? This is the text that is included on the product:

.....''Kit satellite numérique et analogique 3 têtes *****. Composé de: 1 parabole 80 cm métal avec 3 têtes universelles 0,6 dB, 1 commutateur DiSEqC 2 entrées / 1 sortie, 2 cordons péritels, 1 terminal numérique FTA 3000 canaux (2000 TV et 1000 radios), OSD en 7 langues, EPG (guide des programmes), 2 listes favorites, 2 sorties péritels, 1 sortie audio/vidéo en RCA, DiSEqC 1,0-1,2 et Usuals. 1 démodulateur analogique 450 canaux, OSD en 2 langues, 2 prises péritels, DiSEqC 1,0.''

Is this to enable you to receive the french national channels plus the free to view channels through the same TV ( multi standard)and the one dish ?

 

I guess so - the French nationals (SECAM colour) on the analogue box and anything free to air digital on the other box.

It was mentioned earlier in the posting by 'Martinwatkins' about aligning the LNB's carefully to the different satellites - is that what we would need to do to enable us to get some of the uk channels through the numerique box and also get the main french ones through the analogique box? One 'head' in one satellite direction and another going the other way? Is this quite difficult to actually do?

 

It's not as easy as setting up a dish with a centred single LNB.  I expect the instructions would be adequate,  and in some cases the dish comes with a rail or supports for the LNB's set up with pre-marked positions.  But I suspect it would still be very fiddly!

Once it is done, when switching from say a french tv programme to a uk one with the above kit would it still involve unplugging bits from the back of the TV/and or boxes and switching things over?

 

Generally you can daisy chain the satellite receivers to eachother and thence from one of them to the TV.  If it all works OK switching on a receiver gives it priority to the TV screen.    But it can do very unexpected things!   You can also buy a SCART switcher box for about €20.

Sorry to be so dim on this but I too have no experience of satellite until now so am trying my best to understand what is available and to see if it is actally worth having (or not as the case may be!)

 

You're not dim,  it's very complicated.

I also saw a kit for the analogique box/dish with universal head which was adaptable to receive programs from a numerique box ( sold separately) which was a lot cheaper than the above package . Would it ultimately achieve the same thing if it was used with a dish with 2 universal heads?

 

Yes,  the tete universal is suitable for both analogue and digital transmissions,  the universal merely refers to the bands of frequencies it covers,  (technically the local osciallator frequencies used).

 

If you went for the one dish solution you need to check VERY carefully that the dish concerned covers a sufficient arc-width to include Astra 2 at 28 degrees east for the BBC through to 5 deg west for Atlantic Bird 3 for the French analogues.   The one I saw advertised in TeleSatellite magazine (monthly) only covered (from memory) 28 D east,  19 D east,  13 D east, and 5 D east (Astra 1A, ex 19 deg E).   In other words it wouldn't be suitable as it wouldn't stretch past 5 deg east through to 5 deg west.  SO BE VERY CAREFUL,  I just have my doubts that Castorama are going to be selling such a complex bit of kit (given the likely lengthy phone calls from customers trying to set it up!!)

Enlightenment welcomed!

Sorry it's taken a while to reply,  please ask again if it isn't clear (but you may defeat me at that point)

Natalie